Note 1. Some of the connecting words most commonly used for this purpose are namely, for, but, yet, to wit, etc.

Note 2. The word as, when used to connect an example with a rule, should be preceded by a semicolon and followed by a comma.

Examples for Practice.

1. Greece has given us three great historians namely Herodotus Xenophon and Thucydides.

2. Some writers divide the history of the world into four ages viz. the golden age the silver age the bronze age and the iron age.

3. Some writers divide the history of the world into four ages the golden age the silver age the bronze age and the iron age.

4. Cicero in his treatise on morals enumerates four cardinal virtues to wit Fortitude Temperance Justice and Prudence.

RULE 5. A General Term in Apposition to the Particulars under it. When a general term stands in apposition to several others which are particulars under it, the general term is separated from the particulars by a semicolon, and the particulars are separated from each other by commas.

Note. If the enumeration of the particulars is given with much formality, so as to make the several expressions complex, containing commas of their own, then these particulars must be separated from the general term by a colon, and from each other by semicolons; as,

Adjective Pronouns are divided into three classes; Distributive, Demonstrative, and Indefinite.

Adjective Pronouns are divided into these three classes: first, the Distributive, which are four in number; secondly, the Demonstrative, which are four; and thirdly, the Indefinite, which are nine.

SECTION III.

THE COLON.

The Colon marks a division of a sentence more nearly complete than that of a semicolon.

Note 1. The word is derived from the Greek κúλov (colon), a limb, or member. Note 2. The principal uses of the colon have already been given in Rules 4

RULE 1. Greater Divisions of Complex Sentences.When the minor divisions of a complex sentence contain a semicolon, the greater divisions should be separated by a colon; thus,

As we perceive the shadow to have moved along the dial, but did not perceive it moving; and it appears that the grass has grown, though nobody ever saw it grow: so the advances we make in knowledge, as they consist of such insensible steps, are only perceivable by the distance.

RULE 2. Before a Quotation.-A colon is used before a direct quotation; as,

Speaking of party, Pope makes this remark: "There never was any party, faction, sect, or cabal whatsoever, in which the most ignorant were not the most violent."

Note 1. If the quotation is of considerable length, consisting of several sentences, or begins a new paragraph, it should be preceded by both a colon and a dash; as,

At the close of the meeting, the president rose and said:"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with extreme reluctance that I address you on this occasion," etc.

Note 2. If the quotation is merely some short saying, a comma is sufficient; as, Dr. Thomas Brown says, "The benevolent spirit is as universal as the miseries which are capable of being relieved."

RULE 3. Yes and No.- The words yes and no, when in answer to a question, should be followed by a colon, provided the words which follow are a continuation or repetition of the answer; as,

"Can these words add vigor to your hearts? Yes: they can do it; they have often done it."

Note. Yes and no are often followed by some noun in the vocative case, or case independent; as, "Yes, sir," "Yes, my lords," etc. In such cases, the colon. should come after the vocative; as, "Yes, sir: they can do it." "Yes, my lords: I am amazed at his lordship's speech."

RULE 4. Title-Pages. Sometimes the main title of a book is followed by an alternative or explanatory title, in apposition. If this alternative title is introduced by the conjunction or, a semicolon should precede the or, and a comma follow it; but if or is not used, then the alternative title should be separated from the main one by a colon; as,

Literature in Letters; or, Manners, Art, Criticism, Biography, etc. English Grammar: An Exposition of the Principles and Usages of the English Language.

Note. At the bottom of a title-page it is customary to put the place of pub. lication, the name of the publishers, and the year, in the order just named; and to insert a colon after the name of the place, a comma after the name of the publishers, and a period at the end. Example. Philadelphia: Eldredge & Brother, 1879.

Examples for Practice or the Rules for the Comma, the Semicolon, and the Colon.

[To the Student. Give the Rule for each Comma, Semicolon, or Colon that you find in the examples which are punctuated; and insert these points where needed, giving the Rules for the same, in the examples not punctuated. In the unpunctuated sentences, this mark is inserted at the places where a point of some kind is due.]

1. No one denies that there are greater poets than Horace; and much has been said in disparagement even of some of the merits most popularly assigned to him, by scholars who have, nevertheless, devoted years of laborious study to the correction of his text or the elucidation of his meaning.

2. Satire always tends to dwarf and it cannot fail to caricature but poetry does nothing – if it does not tend to enlarge and exalt and if it does not seek rather to beautify than deform.

3. When he invites Tyndaris to his villa, the spot is brought before the eye: the she-goats browsing amid the arbute and wild thyme; the pebbly slopes of Ustica; the green nooks sheltered from the dog-star; the noon-day entertainment; the light wines and the lute.

4. The fundamental characteristic of man is spiritual hunger the universe of thought and matter is spiritual food.

5. He feeds on Nature

art science literature of other minds.

6. It must be observed

assign them no date

nor do I even insist upon their order.

7. This is an iambic line in which the first foot is formed of a

word and a part of a word the second and third

from the body or interior of a word the fourth whole the fifth of two complete words.

of parts taken of a part and a

8. Melissa like the bee gathers honey from every weed

while Arachne like the spider sucks poison from the fairest flowers.

9. The present life is not wholly prosaic precise tame and finite to the gifted eye it abounds in the poetic.

10. Are these to be conquered by all Europe united? No siro no united nation can be that has the spirit to resolve not to be conquered.

11. Be our plain answer this The throne we honor is the people's choice the laws we reverence are our brave fathers' legacy the faith we follow teaches us to live in bonds of charity with all mankind and die with hope of bliss beyond the grave.

12. The discourse consisted of two parts in the first was shown the necessity of exercise in the second the advantages that would result from it.

SECTION IV.

THE PERIOD.

The Period marks the completion of the sentence.

Note. The word Period is derived from the Greek Tepíodos (periodos), a circuit, and means primarily anything rounded or brought to completion. It was the first point introduced.

RULE 1. Complete Sentences.-Sentences which are complete in sense, and not connected in construction with what follows, and not exclamatory or interrogative in their character, should be followed by a period.

Note 1. Sentences, though connected by a conjunction, are sometimes separated by a period, if the parts are long and complex, and are severally complete in themselves; as,

"Other men may have led, on the whole, greater and more impressive lives than he; other men, acting on their fellows through the same medium of speech. that he used, may have expended a greater power of thought, and achieved a greater intellectual effort, in one consistent direction; other men, too (though this is very questionable), may have continued to issue the matter which they did address to the world, in more compact and artistic shapes. But no man that ever lived said such splendid extempore things on all subjects universally; no man that ever lived had the faculty of pouring out, on all occasions, such a flood of the richest and deepest language."

It is questionable, however, whether even in this case a colon would not be the proper point.

Note 2. The conjunctions and, but, for, etc., at the beginning of a sentence, do not always indicate that degree of connection with what precedes which should prevent the use of the period before them. This is especially the case in the Bible. (Luke 23: 27, 28, 29.) "And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say," etc.

RULE 2. After Titles, etc.- A period should be used after the title, or any of the headings, of a book; after the author's name and titles, on the title-page; after the address of a person, on a letter or note; and after each signature to a letter or other document.

Note 1. A title-page consists usually of three parts, each ending in a period. These are, 1. The title of the book; 2. The name of the author, with any titles of honor or office that may be appended to it; 3. The name of the publisher, with the date and place of publication. Example. A Treatise on Meteorology, with a Collection of Meteorological Tables. By Elias Loomis, LL.D., Professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy in Yale College, and Author of a Course of Mathemathics. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1868.

Nɔte 2. In addressing a letter, the residence given, if given, is a part of the address. There should be a comma between the several parts, and a period at the end of the whole address. Ex. John Simpson, 21 Green Street, Philadelphia.

RULE 3. After Abbreviations.- A period is used after all abbreviated words.

Note 1. The most common method of abbreviation is to use the first letter of a word for the whole word, as B. Franklin for Benjamin Franklin. Sometimes, in abbreviating the word, the first letter is doubled; as p. for page, pp. for pages, .M. for Monsieur, MM. for Messieurs. In such cases, a period is not inserted between the two letters which represent the plural of one word. This explains why there is no period between the two L's in the title LL.D. (Legum Doctor), the LL. standing for one word in the plural, and the D. for the other word in the singular. Sometimes a word is abbreviated by taking the first two or three letters, as Eng. for England; sometimes by taking the first letter and the last, as Wm. for William, La. for Louisiana; sometimes by taking the first letter and some leading letter in the middle of the word, as Mo. for Missouri, MS. for Manuscript. In these cases, the period is to be used only at the end of the combined letters. In the case last cited, the last letter of the combination is doubled when the word is plural; as, MS. manuscript, MSS. manuscripts.

Note 2. When an abbreviated word comes at the end of a sentence, it is not necessary to use two periods. One point is sufficient to mark both the abbreviation and the end of the sentence. But if the construction requires some other point, as the comma, semicolon, colon, interrogation, etc., both points must be inserted, one to mark the grammatical construction, the other to mark the ab